Brisbane City Council to try to forcibly remove Aboriginal Sovereign Embassysupporters urgently needed at Musgrave Park

14 May 2012

Brisbane City Council has turned its back on negotiations with the Brisbane Sovereign Embassy over its right to exist in Musgrave Park, South Brisbane.

This afternoon at around 4pm, Luke Bell from Brisbane City Council told the Embassy by phone that negotiations were off and that Council would be forcibly removing the Embassy in the near future.

At a meeting at the Embassy last Saturday, Brisbane Lord Mayor, Graham Quirk tried to confuse the issue by saying the Embassy had to move for this Saturday’s Paniyiri Festival despite the fact that he and Council were fully aware that festival organisers had publicly stated in South City News that they had no problem with the Embassy’s presence during the festival.

Mayor Quirk refused to guarantee that violence would not be used against the Embassy.

Video of this can be viewed at

Not only had Paniyiri organisers begun negotiations with the Embassy on how to work together but local firefighters organising an upcoming regional firefighter expo in Musgrave Park had also approached the Embassy to discuss how they could share the Park.

Since being established over 2 months ago, the Brisbane Sovereign Embassy has welcomed thousands of Brisbane residents to film nights, workshops, family fun days and cultural events around the sacred fire that has been established under Aboriginal law and custom.

The Brisbane Sovereign Embassy has been established to assert Aboriginal Sovereignty over the land, sovereignty which has not been legally extinguished under British, Australian, International or Aboriginal law.

We are urging supporters to contact John Jordan from Brisbane City Council on 0421 346 021 to make it clear that the people of Brisbane want the Embassy to stay.

Today the UQ (University of Queensland) Branch of the NTEU (National Tertiary Education Union) passed the following motion unanimously:

That the UQ branch of the NTEU stands in solidarity with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people struggling for their sovereign rights at the Musgrave Park Tent Embassy.

The branch deplores the action by the Brisbane City Council and Queensland Police in forcibly removing the Tent Embassy.

We call on the union movement to engage in a dialogue with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander activists at the Embassy and their respective organisations, in order to mobilise unionists in support of their just cause.

Passed unanimously

The State Secretary will raise the issue with the QCU (Queensland Council of Unions) at their next meeting.

Precedent was done with City of Perth Council in liaison with the WA Police, driven by talkback radio, and underlain by the WA Premier – for WA it is never unexpected the abuse of police muscle as if the militia of government, whatever tier, and hence 100 officers stormed Nyoongar Tent Embassy – and hence the theme now Australia-wide, however let us also not forget how Councils and police worked together to smash the Occupy protests in Martin Place, Sydney and with ugly force in Melbourne and so on.

AAFTER WATCHING THE VIDEO OF THE CITY MAYORS MESSAGE .I CAN ASSURE YOU THEY WILL USE FORCE TO MOVE AND DISAMBLE THE TENT EMBASSY .THIS WILL BE A SAD DAY FOR FREEDOM AND RIGHTS OF PEOPLE IN QUEENSLAND AS IT WILL DEMONSTRATE THAT QUEENSLAND IS A DICTATOR SHIP STATE.AND IF THEY CANT MOVE YOU BY ASKING THEY WILL USE FORCE THAT WILL HAVE NO BOUNDRIES -IN OTHER WORDS -FREE HAND TO THE POLICE TO INCITE THE VIOLENCE AND USE YOUR DEFENCE AGAINST YOU AS THEY SURELY WILL . IS IN THEIR AGENDER NOW -CONTROL BY VIOLENCE AGAINST OFFENDERS .AND IT CAN BE PROVED .TAKE CARE EVERY ONE AND IF YOU CAN SUPPORT THE TENT EMBASSY DOWN IN BRISBANE DO SO -IN THE THOUSANDS -IS THE ONLY WAY TO WIN —

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1. Industrial question: The Master/servant relationship. The struggle for Worker Control.
2. Ownership question: Who owns the land or does the land own us? Rights to the city, right to country. The struggle of indigenous people for land rights and social justice in Australia.
3. Political question: This is the class struggle. Who owns the means of production? Who governs? How are democratic rights won and shared.

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Questions

*Industrial - Master/servant relationship. The power of boss over worker.
*Ownership - The struggle of indigenous people for land rights and social justice in Australia. Rights to country, right to city.
*Political - The class question. Who should govern? Who owns the means of production? Why and how?

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